More than 1,000 Russian athletes competing in summer, winter and paralympic sport were involved in or benefited from an institutional conspiracy to conceal positive doping tests, an independent WADA report said on Friday.

The second and final part of the report for the World Anti-Doping Agency by Canadian sports lawyer Richard McLaren provided more details of an elaborate state-sponsored doping scheme operated by Russia.

It said there was a systematic cover-up, which was refined at the 2012 Olympics, 2013 world athletics championships and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and that more than 30 sports, including soccer, were involved in concealing positive doping samples.

“We are now able to confirm a cover up that dates back until at least 2011 and continued after the Sochi Olympic Games. It was a cover up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalized and disciplined medal-winning conspiracy,” McLaren told a news conference on Friday.

“It was a cover-up of an unprecedented scale and the second part of this report shows the evidence that increases the number of athletes involved as well as the scope of the conspiracy and cover up.

“We have evidence revealing that more than 500 positive results were reported as negative, including well-known and elite-level athletes, who had their positive results automatically falsified.”

McLaren said Russia won 24 gold, 26 silver and 32 bronze medals at London 2012 and no Russian athlete tested positive.

“Yet the Russian team corrupted the London Games on an unprecedented scale, the extent of which will probably never be fully established,” he said.

“For years international sports competitions have unknowingly been hijacked by the Russians. Coaches and athletes have been playing on an uneven field.”

The report said a urine sample-swapping technique used at Sochi became regular practice at the Moscow laboratory that dealt with elite athletes.

It added that four Sochi gold medalists had samples with physiologically impossible salt readings, while 12 Russian Sochi medalists had evidence of tampering with the bottles containing their urine samples.

The report detailed how a clean urine bank existed in the Moscow laboratory, where salt and coffee were added to clean samples to try to fool officials testing “B samples” in supposedly tamper-proof bottles.

The report included evidence of DNA mismatches, where a tampered B sample did not match the DNA of previous specimens and cases of sample swapping between male and female athletes.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said in a statement that 53 percent of the athletes whose details had been shared with them by McLean’s investigation team had been sanctioned or were currently undergoing disciplinary proceedings.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said the full findings of the report were unprecedented and astonishing.

“They strike right at the heart of the integrity and ethics of sport,” Paralympic sport’s governing body said in a statement.

Yelena Isinbayeva, the twice Olympic pole vault champion and now a Russian anti-doping official, however, said it was unfair to single out Russia for criticism.

“If we want to clean up world sport, let’s start,” she said. “We don’t need to concentrate on just one country. I think banning clean Russian sportsmen is impractical and unfair.”

The original McLaren report, released in July, revealed widespread state-sponsored doping in Russian sport.

The July report found Moscow had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests in many sports ahead of the Sochi Games and led to a partial ban of Russian athletes competing in the Rio Olympics in August.

Although Russian track and field athletes and weightlifters were banned from competing at Rio, the International Olympic Committee rejected a blanket ban and let international sports federations decide which athletes should be eligible to compete.

The evidence contained in the report can be found at the website: here

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

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Normally the hazards of being a ring girl might include catcalls from the spectators.

But recently a woman in the ring got punched by a combatant in a mixed martial arts fight.

It was deemed an accident and she’s apparently OK.

Angry after losing to Farkhad Sharipov in a Titan FC bout on Dec. 2 in Coral Gables, Florida, Andrew Whitney, aka The Beast, wheeled around and threw a random punch out of frustration, striking the woman in the face.

Aronson said that while the punch was unintentional, “We have spoken with Andrew Whitney and his management and are taking appropriate actions to make sure this unforeseen incident is not repeated.”

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]]>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/with-wrestling-hire-trump_b_13523884.htmlRichard (RJ) Eskowhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/with-wrestling-hire-trump_b_13523884.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 21:48:21 -0500
Working Americans probably won't be as lucky. His latest hire is wrestling billionaire Linda McMahon, who's been tapped to lead the Small Business Administration. In the parlance of McMahon's industry: Trump is treating voters like a bunch of jabronies.

The McMahons spent a reported $100 million on Linda's two unsuccessful runs for the United States Senate. It could be argued that their Trump contributions were more cost-effective, since she'll finally hold a federal job -- after giving roughly one-tenth as much money to Trump's initiatives as she did to her own.

The agency McMahon is to lead was created by the Small Business Act of 1953, which declared "free competition" to be "the essence of the American economic system of private enterprise." The Act described "the preservation ... of such competition" as "basic not only to the economic well-being but to the security of this Nation."

McMahon is an odd choice for the position. The WWE is often described as a monopoly, since it dominates the wrestling industry. (Its principal competitor, the UFC, features a different form of fighting/entertainment.) The WWE reported revenue of $164.2 million in the third quarter of 2016 and boasted of 11.5 billion "video views" during the first nine months of the year.

Monopolies are a threat to small businesses. They are anti-competitive, and therefore antithetical to the SBA's mission.

The SBA is supposed to "aid, counsel, assist and protect ... the interests of small-business concerns," and "insure that a fair proportion of (all government) purchases and contracts ... be placed with small-business enterprises ..."

But the McMahons aren't known for being small business-friendly. Vince McMahon even boasted to Sports Illustrated in 1991 about consolidating his industry:

"In the old days, there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country ... There were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the U.S. and if I hadn't bought out my dad, there would still be 30 of them, fragmented and struggling."

The McMahons have muscle, and they use it.

The WWE insists that its wrestlers are "independent contractors." But an analysis in the University of Louisville Law Review found that the WWE's wrestlers met 16 of the IRS's 20 criteria for employee status. The author concluded that "wrestlers are denied countless benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled" because of the WWE's "independent contractor" gambit.

The WWE's contracts force wrestlers to pay for their own travel, lodging, training, costumes, and other expenses. They typically give the WWE rights to a wrestler's identity, including "ring name, likeness, personality, character, caricatures, costumes, gestures and even legal name" - during the term of the contract, and often in perpetuity.

The WWE is being sued by more than 50 former wrestlers who allege that it failed to provide appropriate medical treatment for blows to the head and concealed "medically important and possibly lifesaving information," causing a number of them to incur traumatic brain injuries.

These injuries can sometimes lead to violent behavior, a fact that received renewed publicity after wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his wife and 7-year old son before taking his own life. Tests found that the 40-year-old Benoit's brain was so badly damaged that it resembled that of an 85-year-old person with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers concluded that the damage was caused by repeated concussions and head trauma incurred over many years. (The WWE is fighting the lawsuit.)

McMahon joins fast-food exec Andrew Puzder, Trump's adamantly anti-worker choice for Secretary of Labor, as a Trump contributor/nominee. But Puzder got even more bang for his buck, as might be expected from someone whose corporation pushes $4 meals. He only kicked in $150,000 to Trump's campaign, and he'll be in the cabinet.

These nominations are Trump's "piledriver" move against the American middle class. But then, Trump knows his wrestling. He famously squared off against Vince McMahon in a staged event called "the Battle of Billionaires." Trump "won," but there were clearly no hard feelings.

Like so much about the WWE, and so much about Trump, the whole thing looked fake from start to finish.

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]]>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-crepeau/sport-and-society-for-are_b_13523480.htmlRichard Crepeauhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-crepeau/sport-and-society-for-are_b_13523480.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 21:21:43 -0500 The Guardian. The first revelation involved one player coming forward to describe how he was abused by his youth football coach at the Crewe Alexandra football club.

The charges came from Andy Woodward, age 43, who said that his youth Coach Barry Bennell had repeatedly sexually abused him during the time Bennell was coaching at Crewe and Woodward was a player there. The first abuse occurred when Woodward was eleven years old and went on for several years.

In the next few days, three more players came forward, and the four men appeared on the BBC to discuss being abused in youth football. By the end of November the number of players reporting abuse reached 20. Several more clubs and coaches were implicated. Manchester police were investigating ten suspects who had been accused by thirty-five players. Within another few days 55 clubs had been named in charges, and the number of players coming forward continued to rise. At least three clubs initiated internal investigations.

Barry Bennell, the youth coach at Crewe Alexandra and principal target in the initial charges, has been arrested and convicted of sexual abuse of young boys several times over the past three decades. He became a junior scout and then junior coach in 1970, and despite rumors and charges, Bennell remained with Crewe Alexandra until the late 1980s. From there he moved on to other clubs and their youth teams. He was arrested in Florida in 1994 for sexually abusing one of his players while leading a team on tour. He served four years in prison. American authorities later described him as having an "almost insatiable appetite" for young boys.

In 1998 Bennell was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting young boys, and a year ago he was again sentenced for abusing a 13-year-old boy. He now faces eight charges of sexual abuse of a 14-year-old boy between 1981 and 1985. Five of the charges are for assault on a boy under 14 years of age, two counts of inciting a boy under 14 years of age to commit an act of gross indecency, and finally assault with intent to commit buggery. For at least 25 years, Barry Bennell was put in a position by football clubs at various levels in which he had control over young boys. How could this have happened? Why did it go on for so long? Why is it only now that these charges have surfaced?

The answers to these questions are not difficult to discern. These kinds of scandals in sport are not new and are not all that rare. Perhaps the scandal that most closely parallels this one, was the case in Canada involving junior hockey that surfaced in early 1997. Between 1984 and 1990, Sheldon Kennedy was assaulted 300 times by his junior coach Graham James. This abuse occurred at approximately the same time that Bennell was abusing boys at Crewe Aleandra.

The modus operandi of James and Bennell were also much the same. Bennell was charming and entertaining and loved by parents of the boys. He was clever and performed tricks with the ball on the football pitch to the delight of the boys. Bennell understood what the boys liked and furnished a play room in his house with all the latest electronic games and other gadgetry that drew them in. The boys were invited to come to the house, enjoy the play room, and in some cases were invited to spend the night. Once Bennell's desires settled on a particular boy, he moved on his victim. For the boys, there was a sense of shame and helplessness, the latter coming from the knowledge that this man controlled their football future. The coach was the gatekeeper to their football dreams. Additionally, who would believe the words of a young boy against a popular and significant figure at the football club?

Bennell was not the only predator in youth football or youth sport generally. There were rumors and whispers about others, and now many of those rumors have become charges made in the current revelations. What is clear is that when a coach was charged and there seemed some evidence or chance of proof, football clubs and authorities circled the wagons. In some cases simple denial was enough, and when it wasn't enough, financial settlement with legally binding clauses of silence were negotiated. The clubs and the parents settled. As the current revelations have rolled out, the British press has termed this "hush money." This process of settlement sometimes led to the dismissal or transfer of a coach, or a change of duties where they would have no contact with boys. Criminal proceedings were avoided. Most often those charged moved on to other venues where their pattern of behavior could continue.

The parallels to the scandal within the Catholic Church and the actions of some bishops are striking.

What I wrote about the Graham James case in 1997 seems to apply directly to this latest set of revelations:

The relationship between player and coach takes all sorts of forms and shapes. The coach can be a parental substitute. The coach may be admired and respected as a person. The coach may be feared, because the coach holds the key to what the athlete wants most. The coach may be loved. And the coach will use all of these levers and buttons to teach and to motivate. From the first day of practice, the coach has power because the coach will determine who will play and how much they will play. A coach can cut a player off the team, completely or partially. The coach seems to totally control the destiny of the player and therefore, access to fame, fortune, and the pro-myth.

This places enormous responsibility on the coach, and, with such a power balance in the relationship, it opens endless opportunities for abuse. Players are completely vulnerable and literally at the mercy of coaches and other authority figures.

This is why in youth sport the position of coach is such a critical one. Young boys and girls are still feeling their way in life, learning what is and what is not acceptable. They are caught up in the quest for recognition and love, willing to do anything to please those who have the power to fill the empty spaces in their developing personalities.

This leaves the question of what is to be done to protect children from this and other forms of abuse. The best existing model for action at this point comes from Australia where in 2013 the Australian

Government created a six-member Royal Commission to study the problem and make recommendations. What has been done there is extensive, and it has been effective. The contents of the report are too detailed to go into here.

As a starting point anyone interested in seeking a solution to these sorts of problems should carefully exam the document "Child Protection in Sport" available at the "Clearinghouse for Sport" of the Australian Sports Commission.

On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don't have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.

Copyright 2016 by Richard C. Crepeau

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]]>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derek-rosenfeld/end-the-ban-on-marijuana-_b_13521700.htmlDerek Rosenfeldhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/derek-rosenfeld/end-the-ban-on-marijuana-_b_13521700.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 18:36:31 -0500In the last week we've heard from NBA legend Phil Jackson and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talking about their own marijuana use and how they think professional sports leagues like the NBA and NFL should change their marijuana policies.

Marijuana should not be a banned substance in professional sports.

Marijuana is legal for medical use in 28 states and recreational use in 8 states plus Washington D.C., yet it is a banned substance in most professional sports and athletes are not allowed to use it. It is time for the sports world to catch up with the times and adopt more rational marijuana policies.

The National Football League (NFL) is the clearest example of a backwards marijuana policy. The NFL ignores the medicinal benefits of marijuana, most notably its ability to treat chronic pain, and that comes with the territory of being a professional football player.

Instead, prescription opioid painkillers are the preferred treatment method. Former Pro-Bowler Calvin Johnson spent nine years on the Detroit Lions and said painkillers were handed out "like candy." Retired players like Jim McMahon and others have talked about developing an addiction to those medications. NBA All-Star Blake Griffin supports medical marijuana specifically because "many guys would probably benefit from it and not take as many painkillers, which have worse long-term effects."

If people are suffering from chronic pain, using marijuana with painkillers can help reduce the amount of painkillers needed, and in some cases people have been able to completely replace their use of painkillers with marijuana. Overdose is an issue being discussed across the country right now and a 2014 study showed that opiate overdoses decreased by a nearly 25 percent average in states that have implemented medical marijuana laws compared to states that have not.

The NFL is also dealing with a concussion crisis -- many players are retiring early and some people are choosing not to play football at all because of the consequences that can come later in life after having too many head injuries. The non-psychoactive part of marijuana known as CBD has the potential to treatand even prevent concussions. The NFL should set an example by investing in marijuana research to see how it can help improve the health of its players.

Former Super Bowl champions Marvin Washington, Scott Fujita and Brendon Ayanbadejo helped start a conversation two years ago calling on the NFL to incorporate medical marijuana in their strategy for treating and preventing concussions. Eugene Monroe continued the debate earlier this year when he became the first current player to call on the NFL to look at the benefits of medical marijuana. He has since been joined by Derrick Morgan.

Last month Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson was suspended for 10 games because he uses marijuana to treat Crohn's disease, which is a qualifying condition under New York's medical marijuana program. Athletes should not be treated differently when it comes to marijuana -- they should be able to use it in places where it is legal.

Earlier this year, NBA veteran Al Harrington came out in strong support of California's Prop. 64 to legalize marijuana -- not only because he thinks it should be legal, but because he sees marijuana legalization and drug policy reform as a racial equity issue. He said, "I've been in the marijuana-industry space for the last five years, and I've seen that it's a predominately white space. And minorities, we're the ones that are locked up behind it."

Attitudes about marijuana are changing rapidly; 60 percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing it. Athletes and sports leagues in general have a large influence on our culture, and if these leagues change their marijuana policies they can make a big impact to help change the way people think about marijuana (and the people who use it).

It's time for all professional sports leagues to do the socially responsible thing: stop using the playbook and rhetoric from the failed drug war and create more fair marijuana policies.

Derek Rosenfeld is the manager of social media and media relations at the Drug Policy Alliance.

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]]>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-ruderman/red-sox-have-their-day-at_b_13476702.htmlStephen Rudermanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-ruderman/red-sox-have-their-day-at_b_13476702.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 17:16:14 -0500
The day started off with the Red Sox trading Travis Shaw and two prospects to the Milwaukee Brewers for right-handed relief pitcher Tyler Thornburg. Thornburg pitched 67 games for the Brewers last season, in which he went 8-5, with a 2.15 earned run average. Thornburg was quite stocked about the trade, as his tweet about the traded ended with "#2017WorldSeries."

The Red Sox were just getting started, as they completed a trade with the Chicago White Sox for left-handed starting pitcher Chris Sale. In return, the Red Sox sent Yoan Moncada, who is ranked as baseball's number one prospect by mlb.com, as well as three other prospects to Chicago.

Sale further strengthens a rotation, which includes 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner David Price and 2016 American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello. Sale is a five-time all-star, and he had 74 career wins in his seven years with the South Siders. He also has a career earned run average right at three.

Sale made headlines on July 24, when he cut up all of the throwback jerseys that were going to be used in that night's game, in which he was slated to pitch. He did so, because he didn't like how the style of the jerseys made him feel on the mound, so if the Red Sox can avoid throwback nights to their very early championship seasons of the early 20th Century, they should be fine.

Speaking of interesting headlines, Pablo Sandoval was the next highlight for the Red Sox. Manager John Farrell said that Sandoval would be in the mix to play third base for the Red Sox next season. Farrell also said that Sandoval had lost a considerable amount of weight. A recent picture then surfaced confirming that Sandoval not only indeed lost a considerable amount of weight, but that he was in the best shape of his life.

Sandoval, 30, had a miserable season for the Boston Red Sox in 2015, which was his first of a five-year, $95 million contract. When Sandoval showed up to Spring Training, he had obviously put on a considerate amount of weight. He hit just .245, with 10 home runs and 47 runs batted in. Sandoval then showed up to Spring Training last season, appearing even heavier. Sandoval went 0-for-7 in his first three games last season, and he broke his belt on a swing he took in a game in Toronto. Those three games turned out to be his only three games of the season, as he was sidelined for the remainder of the season, following left shoulder surgery.

Now, Sandoval appears to be in the best shape of his life, and if he shows up to Spring Training in the same shape, he could be poised for a comeback season unlike none other. When Sandoval was in shape, he was one of the best players in baseball. He displayed power and could hit anything thrown to him at the plate, and he displayed tremendous defensive range at third base.

To top the day off, the Red Sox agreed to terms with power-hitting first baseman Mitch Moreland on a one-year deal, worth $5.5 million. Moreland, who hit over 20 home runs in three of his last four seasons, will likely enjoy the short dimensions down Fenway Park's right field line, which includes famous Pesky's Pole, which stands only 302 feet from home plate.

"Boston's like the Golden State Warriors now in Baseball," said New York Yankees' general manager Brian Cashman in an interview with Newsday's Erik Boland. "They got their Durant and their Green and Thompson and Curry.

Of course, Cashman is no stranger to offseason shopping sprees. Prior to the 2003 season, he acquired Japanese superstar Hideki Matsui and Cuban defector Jose Contreras. A year later, coming off a loss to the Florida Marlins in the 2003 World Series, Cashman signed six-time all-star right-handed starting pitcher Kevin Brown, as well as Gary Sheffield. Cashman capped off that offseason with the trading of Alfonso Soriano to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez. Prior to the 2005 season, in the wake of their historic loss to the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS, Cashman was at it again, as he signed the Big Unit and now Hall of Famer, Randy Johnson.

Cashman's biggest shopping spree came during the 2008-2009 offseason. The Yankees missed the postseason, entirely in 2008, which was the first time they had done so since 1993. The team was also moving into its new version of Yankee Stadium, so Cashman wasted no time. He traded for Nick Swisher, and then he signed CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. Cashman's moves paid off, as each of them had their moments in the Yankees' run to a world championship in 2009, which was the franchise's record 27th title.

There are some indications that Cashman may be prepared for another spree. The Yankees called up catcher Gary Sanchez, who had an unbelievable 53 games, as he hit .299, with 20 home runs and 42 runs batted in. Sanchez's performance gave the Yankees a lot of hope for the future.

On Sunday, the Yankees agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal with veteran power hitter Matt Holliday to be the team's designated hitter. The Yankees have also expressed significant interest in bringing back Aroldis Chapman, who was the team's closer in the first four months of last season. The Yankees have offered contracts to both Chapman and Kenley Jansen. If the Yankees can sign both pitchers, they would have the best backend of a bullpen in baseball to go along with Dellin Betances.

The Yankees had the best backend of a bullpen in baseball last year with Chapman, Betances and Andrew Miller. Who knows, had the Yankees kept Chapman and Miller and still called up Sanchez, and had the Giants been able to get Mark Melancon at the trade deadline, a Huffington Post Contributor's infamous Giants and Yankees World Series prediction could have come true.

It would be quite a day for the Yankees if Chapman and Jansen both signed, and that could certainly make the Yankees the team of the third day of the Winter Meetings. These potential moves could put the Yankees in a good position to return to the postseason, as the American League is shaping up to be quite weak next season.

However before the Red Sox made their big moves Tuesday, they already had a monstrous offense, which featured Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. Add Moreland and an in-shape Sandoval to that mix, and all of baseball better look out. Not to mention that the Red Sox already had good starting pitching and a good bullpen.

Some could say that the Red Sox have already won the entire offseason. Of course, winning the offseason often times doesn't mean that much once the actual season starts, and in the 22 years of the Wild Card Era, only four teams who finished the season with the best record in baseball went on to win the World Series. However, it would take something incredible to prevent the Red Sox from winning the American League East again, as they have too much talent to disappoint.

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Burglars smashed their way into the home of New York Giants player Nikita Whitlock on Tuesday night, then covered it with hateful graffiti and expletives.

The intruders scrawled racist slurs and phrases like “Go back to Africa” and “KKK” on the walls of the New Jersey apartment Whitlock shares with his wife and two children. Graffiti on one wall reads “Trump.”

Whitlock told CBS New York he had to cover up a swastika so his 6-year-old son wouldn’t see it.

“Racism is real and instead of close to home this time they came inside,” Whitlock wrote in an Instagram post that shows some of the slurs. “My family is safe but we are saddened by the hate. Thanks to the Moonachie Police Department for all of your help!”

The robbers also made off with some jewelry and electronics, but curiously left other valuables behind, the fullback’s wife, Ashley Whitlock, noted.

This is the second time someone has broken into the family’s home in the last couple of weeks, and police are investigating both incidents. Whitlock’s agent told ESPN that their previous residence had also been burglarized.

Two Bangladeshi and a Dutch trade union have sued FIFA in a Swiss court in legal proceedings that challenge the world soccer body’s awarding to Qatar of the 2022 World Cup because of the Gulf state’s controversial labour regime. The case could call into question group’s status as a non-profit and, if successful, open the door to a wave of claims against FIFA as well as Qatar and other Gulf states who employ millions of migrant workers.

The legal proceedings come at a crucial moment in efforts by trade unions and human rights groups to work with Qatar on reforming its kafala or labour sponsorship system that puts workers at the mercy of their employers.

Those efforts, a unique undertaking in a part of the world in which governments by and large refuse to engage and repress or bar their critics, have already produced initial results. The question is how far Qatar intends to push ahead with reform and to what degree it will feel the need to do so in a world in which the rise of populism has pushed human and other rights onto the backburner.

Trade unions and human rights argue that Qatar since winning World Cup hosting rights six years ago has had sufficient time to bring its labour system in line with international standards and that its moves so far fall short of that.

A key milestone alongside the trade unions’ legal action and a separate Swiss judicial inquiry into the integrity of the Qatari World Cup bid is a looming deadline set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) for Qatar to act on promises of reform that it has made.

The ILO warned last March that it would establish a Commission of Inquiry if Qatar failed to act within a year. Such commissions are among the ILO’s most powerful tools to ensure compliance with international treaties. The UN body has only established 13 such commissions in its century-long history. The last such commission was created in 2010 to force Zimbabwe to live up to its obligations.

The Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV), supported by the Bangladesh Free Trade Union Congress (BFTUC) and the Bangladesh Building and Wood Workers Federation (BBWWF), filed their complaint against FIFA on behalf of a Bangladeshi migrant worker, Nadim Sharaful Alam.

Mr. Alam was forced as is the norm in recruitment for Qatar to pay $4,300 to a recruitment agency in violation of Qatari law and FIFA standards that stipulate that employers should shoulder the cost of hiring. To raise the money, Mr. Alam had to mortgage land he owned, according to FNV lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld. Mr. Alam is also demanding compensation for being the victim of “modern slavery,” Ms. Zegveld said.

The FNV said in a statement that it wanted the court to rule that “FIFA acted wrongfully by selecting Qatar for the World Cup 2022 without demanding the assurance that Qatar observes fundamental human and labour rights of migrant construction workers, including the abolition of the kafala system.” FIFA is a Swiss incorporated legal entity.

The trade unions’ further demand that the court order FIFA to ensure that in the run-up to the World Cup workers’ rights are safeguarded by pressuring the Gulf state to enact and implement adequate and effective labour reforms takes on added significance following the group’s decision to take over responsibility for preparations of World Cups starting with the Qatar tournament.

A Swiss government-sponsored unit of the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which groups 34 of the world’s richest countries, last year defined FIFA as a multi-national rather than a non-profit that was bound by the OECD’s guidelines. The decision meant that the soccer group would be responsible for upholding of the human and labour rights of workers employed in Qatar on World Cup-related projects. A court ruling upholding that principle would reinforce FIFA’s status as a business rather than a non-governmental organization.

FIFA has repeatedly said that it was “fully committed to do its utmost to ensure that human rights are respected on all FIFA World Cup sites and operations and services directly related to the FIFA World Cup.” FIFA has recently included provisions for labour standards in World Cup contracts that kick in with the 2026 tournament.

The decision to take on responsibility for World Cups means that FIFA no longer can hide behind assertions that it has no legal authority to impose its will on host countries. In a letter to Ms. Zegveld and the trade unions’ Swiss lawyers date 16 October 2016, FIFA Deputy Secretary General Marco Villiger asserted however that “FIFA refutes any and all assertions…regarding FIFA’s wrongful conduct and liability for human rights violations taking place in Qatar.” Ms. Zegveld noted that FIFA had refrained from denying the violations themselves.

A recent survey of construction companies involved in World Cup-related infrastructure projects in Qatar called into question whether the Gulf state and FIFA were doing all they could do to enforce international labour standards.

Less than a quarter of the 100 companies approached for the survey by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre deemed it appropriate to respond. Less than 40 percent publicly expressed a commitment to human rights and only 17 percent referred to international standards. Only three companies publicly acknowledged rights of migrant workers.

A human rights researcher with extensive experience in studying recruitment of migrant labour in Asia said the system was controlled by an international crime syndicate that benefitted from collusion between corrupt senior government officials, company executives, and recruitment agencies that cooperated across national borders at the expense of millions of unskilled workers. “Billions of dollars are involved, all off the books, not taxed that come from migrant workers,” the researcher said.

A trade union court victory could open the door to an avalanche of cases by migrant workers demanding compensation for illegal recruitment practices as well as being victims of a system that curtails freedom of contract as well as basic human freedoms and workers’ rights. Those cases could target not only FIFA but also Qatar and other Gulf states that operate a kafala system. “This could just be the beginning,” said a trade union activist.

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]]>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/12/08/simone-biles-pantsuit_n_13513350.htmlJamie Feldmanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/12/08/simone-biles-pantsuit_n_13513350.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:24:04 -0500The world fell in love with powerhouse gymnast Simone Biles during the Summer Olympics, and that love affair continues one powerful outfit at a time.

The four-time gold medalist traded in her star-spangled bodysuits for an orange Marienbad leggings pantsuit at Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast in Los Angeles Wednesday.

Biles, who was honored at the event, paired her suit with a white button-front shirt and Badgley Mischka platform shoes. The ponte blazer and heavyweight leggings combo, which appears to highlight your boss lady status no matter who you’re standing next to, is currently on sale for $163.

We’re a sucker for just about anyone in a pantsuit, but Biles gets a perfect score for this one.

After a short period of appearing as though the issue was fixed, Twitter's strange technical fault of deleting social media posts made by professional wrestlers is back.

The latest victim of the bug is currently suspended WWE superstar Paige. Although she won't be suspended for much longer. Her 60 days are up tomorrow on Friday 9th December, following her second Wellness Policy Violation. But that didn't stop her tweeting:

When you do nothing wrong but things still bite you in ass for no reason. Always fun haha.

You had one day left, Paige. ONE DAY.

Of course, that tweet could be nothing about WWE. But because of the time it was posted, and how it was quickly deleted, she's not helping the speculation.

When Paige's second violation was announced by WWE - not even a month after her first Wellness Policy Violation suspension had finished - her boyfriend Alberto Del Rio, a few members of her family and Paige herself all vented on Twitter that the violation was because she was now seeing a non-WWE doctor about her neck issues, who had prescribed her painkillers. WWE denied this with the statement:

"Saraya-Jade Bevis tested positive for an illegal substance, not a prescription drug. In addition, WWE is providing world-class medical care for her in-ring injury."

So WWE claim the violation was from illegal drugs, not anything over-the-counter like painkillers.

Even though her suspension is up tomorrow, don't expect to see Paige on WWE TV anytime soon. She's still recovering from her reported neck surgery, so she can't be used in a physical role. It's a shame, as a returning Paige would really freshen up the women's division on Raw. By which I mean, Sasha Banks and Charlotte's feud on Raw.

Despite everything that's happened in the ongoing saga of Paige, and it's been a lot over the last several months - with her boyfriend leaving the company, reports she hired legal representation to get out of her contract, two Wellness Policy violations - she's somehow still with WWE. Some speculate that the only reason she hasn't been released is because WWE don't want the PR hassle of firing someone after they've had neck surgery.

But two people who are finished with the company are WWE Hall of Famers Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Amy 'Lita' Dumas.

Shortly after F4WOnline reported that the two had been removed from their pre-show panel duties - being replaced by Booker T and Charly Caruso in a new, much shorter 10 minute format - it was said that Lawler and Lita had gone from full-time deals to Legends Contracts, where they'd just be brought in for special appearances.

That still seems to be the case with Lawler, but according to Jim Ross, who has spoken to Lita: "she's no longer with the company."

But don't worry Lita, there is life after WWE...as Shinsuke Nakamura impersonators!

Finn Balor recently bumped into Stu Bennett, the wrestler formerly known as Wade Barrett, and shared this photo on his Instagram.

I'm afraid I've got some baaaaad neeeeeews, Barrett. WWE are probably going to be in contact about gimmick infringement.

What do you think will happen to Paige now her suspension is nearly up? Tell me how she'll probably get suspended again hours into returning in the comments below.

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]]>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-global/hong-kong-coach-chan-yuen_b_13510902.htmlThe Conversation Globalhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-global/hong-kong-coach-chan-yuen_b_13510902.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports
Thu, 08 Dec 2016 07:45:56 -0500
The story of Chan Yeun-ting's success is widely framed as a major step for women who take on managerial roles in male-dominated sports. Ed Sykes/Reuters

This year a young female football coach from Hong Kong made history when she became the first woman ever to lead a men's team to a national title. The story of Chan Yuen-ting's success is widely framed as a major step for women who take on managerial roles in male-dominated sports.

While she is hailed as an idol, what is the context of Chan's achievement? Has football in Hong Kong been providing women with more opportunities than the rest of the world? Or was her success just luck?

Making of a world's first

In April 2016, 27-year-old Chan Yuen-ting held up a league trophy in the air, witnessed by about 3,000 local spectators, who found their way to the stadium in the far east of the city. Little was known about the media frenzy that would follow.

Within hours of Eastern Sports Club winning the Hong Kong Premier League, news that something historic might have happened spread like wildfire. By the next day, the story had found its way to the BBC, followed by features in The Guardian, Univision, and SBS. The coverage was unified in highlighting a long-winded description of a straightforward achievement: "the first female football coach to win a top-flight men's championship".

The recognition of Chan's success was immortalised when she was officially awarded the Guinness World Record for the same reason. The global award highlighted that it had taken more than 150 years of modern football history to reach this point.

Ever since, Chan, who is often called by her Chinese nickname Beef Ball, has become a popular figure in Hong Kong and abroad. She was hired as TV moderator by LeSports - one of China's biggest sport streaming portals - and has attended corporate events as motivational speaker.

In July 2016, she received the city's Bronze Bauhinia Star, making her the only second sporting figure in Hong Kong to receive this honour. But Chan's status as national heroine reached its peak when, in November, the BBC listed her as one of the 100 most influential women of 2016 and, on December 1st, the Asian Football Confederation honoured her as Women's Coach of the Year.

If things stay as they are now, Chan Yuen-ting will set another record in 2017, when she will be the first woman to manage a men's team in a regional champions league tournament.

Getting there, though, was anything but planned.

A risky career choice

Chan's interest in football emerged relatively late and only flourished once she entered university. She joined the women's section of a regional football club at the age of 19, and also represented Hong Kong in the national team.

During this time, Chan faced a lot of scepticism from her family. The women's league only has amateur status, forcing players and staff to have regular daytime jobs. Only the men's league allows footballers to make their living from the sport.

Chan took out a loan to self-finance her postgraduate studies in sport medicine and health science. And, in the meantime, she started working as a football data analyst. She was subsequently offered the role of assistant coach for various youth teams and top-tier clubs. But she had never held an actual head coach position until December 2015, when her predecessor suddenly left Eastern Sports Club, making her the next most qualified staff in line.

Chan's career would not have taken off without the sanction of a man - club director Peter Leung - who has retrospectively called his decision a "no-brainer".

Change agent or caretaker?

Now that she has been celebrated as a pioneer, it's very tempting to understand Chan's success as move towards gender equality. But was she appointed in spite or because of being a woman?

It doesn't seem Chan Yuen-ting was hired because of her gender. Despite lacking a substantial career as professional footballer, she proved herself through her technical expertise, while earning her stripes in positions that had mainly kept her behind the scenes. But finding the fate of one of the best local teams in her hands was an unprecedented breakthrough.

And let's not forget that while her appointment to lead a men's team was extraordinary, so would have been a coaching position for a women's team. Recent figures suggest the share of female coaches in women's football has steadily declined, with a majority of manager positions in Europe and the United States being taken by men. A quick look at the coaching benches in Asia suggests a similar tendency.

In interviews, Chan Yuen-ting has been surprisingly outspoken about the pressure she faced during the first weeks and the fear she would not live up to expectations. But her team delivered the desired results, and with it came the respect of the football community.

Nevertheless, it's important not to ascribe too much subversive significance to this event. Although empirical research shows female coaches often perform "significantly better" than their male counterparts, Chan was not appointed as a change agent.

In football jargon, she was the typical temporary "caretaker" - recruited internally and needing to perform extraordinarily well to be considered for a full-fledged assignment. She just did that.

A step towards gender equality?

Chan Yuen-ting has set an extremely important example for other women in the world who have similar dreams. But it's also important to reflect on why her success has been constantly reduced to astonishment of how she had managed to cross the gender barrier and what role her "crush" David Beckham played in it. Her breakthrough has arguably been foiled to some extent by the continuous emphasis on her gender.

Leading a men's team to a championship has entitled her to a "Women's Coach of the Year" award, notwithstanding the irony that with this ward, she is still evaluated differently.

While club, league and media have all capitalised on Chan's achievement, it's unknown how they would have reacted to failure. Would she be treated equally to her coaching peers, or be looked upon less favourably? Would she have been given another chance if her team had finished below expectations?

Hong Kong is currently 140th in international football rankings.Peter Cziborra/Reuters

In an interview with the Guardian, Chan has said she's aware of having become a role model for young women in similar situations. But asked about the reasons of her success, she hinted at cultural characteristics of the region, suggesting there's hardly any discrimination between men and women in Hong Kong.

This opinion is slightly at odds with the social and economic realities in the city. According to a 2015 survey, around 30% of men and roughly 50% of women show progressive attitudes towards gender equality, which puts Hong Kong on a similar level with China, Singapore, and Thailand.

It's of utmost importance then, to acknowledge the incidental nature of Chan's appointment, which is far from being an intended outcome of the current structures.

Hong Kong - currently 140th in international football ranking - is one of the most unlikely places to produce "the first female football coach to win a top-flight men's championship". And it's arguably this very unlikeliness that made it possible.

For most women, coaching a men's team is still off-limits, barring them altogether from the opportunity to pursue professional careers as football managers.

Hopefully, the recognition of Chan Yuen-ting's success will eventually go beyond celebrating the "miracle", and address more important questions about gender equity in football. Why did this take so long? And, where are the other women?

In an interview with E! News in October, the champion downhill skier admitted that the intense media interest in her relationship with Woods made it “really hard” to be together.

Ultimately, though, she said the experience taught her to shrug off negativity from outsiders.

“That’s one thing that made me stronger,” Vonn told E!. “Being able to block out the noise and block out other people’s opinions, and honestly it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks as long as you’re happy.”

Running back Matt Forte, currently with the New York Jets football team, previously played 8 seasons for the Chicago Bears. He returned to Chicago on November 18 for the Matt Forte's Get In The Game Teen Summit at Malcolm X College. NAACP Chicago Southside and Westside branches, Black McDonald's Operators Association of Chicago, and Fifth Third Bank were among the sponsors. Aaron R Parthemer, Sr., along with Julio Gonzalez and Quentin Newman of ETS Family Office Professional Athlete and Executive Division, helped to coordinate and sponsor the event. Nearly 300 students from located high schools attended the event that included classes in branding, banking and budgeting, knowing your legal rights, and techniques to de-escalate violence when confronted by the police. Several representatives from the Chicago Police Department community affairs office were on hand to meet with the youth.

Forte's event came at a time when his adopted hometown could use a lift. Chicago has experienced a major spike in murders this year with 706 deaths as of December 7, 2016. In a stark reminder of the epidemic of violence in the city, the murder tally rose from 702 to 706 just in the brief time this reporter wrote the article. Yet, the people of Chicago refuse to be defeated. Renelle Perry, an officer of the Westside branch of the NAACP Chicago, beseeched for a positive story about this event because "there are already too many bad stories about Chicago." She said, "We are doing everything we can to help the younger generation get on the right path."

As part of the program, the students completed a stop and frisk survey that asked have you ever been stopped and frisked, how did you feel when the police first ordered you to stop, and how did the frisk make you feel. A surprising number of young people under the age of 16 raised their hands when asked if they had been stopped and frisked. One young girl, with tears in her eyes, described having her body parts touched by a male officer while being frisked. The young girl and her mother filed a complaint with the precinct, yet the officer was not disciplined despite not waiting for a female officer to conduct the body search. One teen told this reporter he no longer went outside unless he was going to a specific destination. He said, "I don't hang outside anymore due to police harassment." The instructor of the class, Glen Brinson, a professional fireman who volunteered his time, informed the high school students that they did not have to submit to a search and could say no. Many of the students said they felt reassured after learning their rights.

Forte made himself accessible during the event even leading a dance contest. He stopped in each classroom dispensing advice, and answering the questions. He cautioned the youth about their use of social media. One girl asked him how he resolves conflict on the football field. Forte advised, "It's hard. It takes a lot of practice in that particular situation. I am a Christian. I pray for them. Then there's meditation. I wait to respond. Sometimes, I do respond. Then I promise myself I will do better next time. I have a story to tell you - a player cursed at me on the field. I turned him and said God bless you. He then said sorry, man."

Catching up with Matt Forte after the event, he was most proud of the classes on de-escalation that were taught at his summit. He hopes they will save lives. The importance of de-escalation was brought home to him in light of the senseless road rage murder of Joe McKnight, who played for the Jets at one time. The students were taught C3 (Calm Circuit Connection) de-escalation techniques that work to reduce levels of adrenaline in the brain. Andra Medea, who co-wrote the groundbreaking book "Against Rape," developed Chill, a special type of C3 program for youth. She explained, "De-escalation works best if it's closely tailored to a specific group, designed around specific challenges they face. So while there's a C3 program for, say, police, the needs of police are very different from, say, the de-escalation needs of a 14 year-old at the local high school." Chill, which is taught by young adults in high school and college to their younger peers in grade school through high school, utilizes common situations and everyday language to teach practical methods for defusing tense situations. These methods including walking with the person and asking them questions such as their name and address.

Matt next returns to Chicago in March. He will attend a local high school gala and hands out a scholarship to a lucky student.

The picture of Matt Forte in the classroom was provided courtesy of PhilFree Media.

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